"Some in the opposition to Saleh have expressed skepticism about even the existence of Al Qaeda, describing the terrorist group that has come to preoccupy Washington in recent years as a myth."
Oh, so the Yemenis know all about "Al-CIA-Duh," huh?
Must be why they are kicking them out!
"Army confronts Islamists in Yemen; Renegade general leads troops" June 12, 2011|By Ahmed Al-Haj, Associated Press
SANA, Yemen — Yemeni soldiers battled Islamic militants yesterday in an attempt to drive them from several southern towns. The clashes killed 40 people, officials said.
In a twist, the army commander leading the campaign to drive back the Islamists is among several top military figures who have turned against the country’s president and thrown their support behind a massive protest movement pushing for the autocratic leader’s ouster.
The commanders who abandoned Yemen’s embattled president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, accuse him of trying to sow chaos and letting the southern towns fall into the hands of Islamic militants in an effort to convince the United States and other Western powers that without him in charge, Al Qaeda would take control of the country....
Yeah, well, which "Al-CIA-Duh" would that be, huh?
The made-up "Al-CIA-Duh?"
Or the "Al-CIA-Duh" CREATION for the COURTROOM!?
The surrounding Abyan Province is one of the strongholds of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which the United States considers a more immediate threat than the terror network’s central leadership sheltering along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
It is not clear how closely linked the militants who seized the towns are to Yemen’s Al Qaeda offshoot. The area is also home to many other Islamist groups....
In nearby Zinjibar, which Islamic militants seized at the end of May, a local official said army troops were massing at the southern outskirts of the city in preparation for a push to retake the town....
An adviser to the Abyan governor, General Abdel Hakim al-Salahi, who is a member of the ruling party, accused Saleh of having had “a very clear plot aimed at creating chaos in Yemen.’’
The plan, according to Salahi, was for the Islamic militants to control at least five southern provinces “in order to spark the fears of the West and terrorize the people of Yemen.’’
Salahi said the bulk of the militants involved are from groups that allied with Saleh in the past, during the 1994 war with southern separatists.
But other elements have joined them recently, including some believed to have Al Qaeda ties, Salahi said.
“Things became very mixed up and the Islamic militants are fighting each other, as much as they are fighting the army units,’’ he said.
The fight against them is being led by General Faisal Ragab, a battalion commander who defected to the opposition seeking Saleh’s ouster in March.
According to a military official close to General Ragab, who is originally from Abyan, the army officers who have abandoned Saleh have made a commitment to fight Islamic militants while holding the president responsible....
President Saleh has resisted calls to step down by hundreds of thousands of protesters who have filled the streets of major cities in Yemen since early February, but a deadly crackdown has failed to clear them from the streets.
--more--"
And they are still at it:
"Huge protest gathers in Yemen to demand Saleh’s ouster; Uncertainty over his return fuels growing turmoil" June 11, 2011|By Ahmed Al-Haj, Associated Press
SANA, Yemen — Nearly 100,000 Yemenis protested yesterday in a main square of the capital, demanding the president’s ouster in the biggest rally since Ali Abdullah Saleh left for Saudi Arabia after he was wounded in an attack on his palace.
Related: Saleh Seriously Wounded
Saleh’s evacuation for medical treatment has thrown Yemen into a dangerous political standoff, with opponents insisting he now be pushed completely out of power and his allies seeking to preserve his rule....
The president’s allies say he could return within days and have been resisting US and Saudi pressure to start now on a handover of power....
I don't think so.
The United States fears that the impoverished country’s power vacuum will give even freer rein to Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen, which Washington believes is the terror network’s most active franchise.
Good thing the Yemeni army is taking care of things.
Already, Islamic militants — some suspected of ties to Al Qaeda — have taken control of at least two areas in the restive south, a provincial capital, Zinjibar, and the nearby town Jaar.
Yesterday morning, warplanes hit militant positions north of Jaar, witnesses and security officials said. They said there were casualties but the number was not known....
The upheaval of the past months has left Saleh too preoccupied to focus on the fight against Al Qaeda, and the United States has stepped up its covert operations in Yemen.
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Related: Civil War Door Opens For Amerika in Yemen
